Identity of Speakers
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Felicia Branch
Faculty/Staff
OtherAssistant Professor of Clinical Education; Tax Clinic Director at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Lawsuit
Social media
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
Faculty sanctioned
Litigation
State Campus Free Speech Act
Title IX or other federal statute
Other
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Incident Status:
In litigation Federal District Court
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
On May 26, 2026, Felicia Branch, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, filed a federal lawsuit against the university alleging unlawful retaliation and violations of the First Amendment arising from her suspension and termination following social media posts concerning the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In September 2025, shortly after Kirk was assassinated on September 10, 2025, Branch posted comments on Facebook that quickly became the subject of public controversy. Her posts referenced Psalm 109, a biblical passage invoking divine judgment, and compared individuals mourning Kirk’s death to the Ku Klux Klan. The posts circulated widely and prompted immediate backlash from state officials and university leadership.
Following the posts in mid September 2025, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock placed Branch on paid administrative suspension while it reviewed her conduct. Chancellor Christina Drale issued a public statement emphasizing the university’s commitment to free expression while condemning violent rhetoric and asserting that the posts were inconsistent with institutional expectations for civil discourse and professional conduct. Dean Colin Crawford likewise stated that legal educators are expected to maintain professional integrity and avoid speech that could be interpreted as legitimizing violence.
Around the same period in September 2025, Arkansas state leaders including Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Attorney General Tim Griffin, and Lieutenant Governor Leslie Rutledge publicly called for Branch’s termination, characterizing her comments as incompatible with the values of public higher education and the legal profession. The university also initiated an internal investigation into whether her conduct violated faculty policies governing professional behavior and nondiscrimination related to political beliefs.
On October 13, 2025, Branch was terminated from her position following the university’s review. Reporting indicates the university concluded that her posts had caused significant disruption and undermined trust within the law school community.
In her complaint, Branch alleges that both her suspension and termination constituted unlawful retaliation and viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. She contends that her posts were made as a private citizen on matters of public concern and that the university’s response was driven in part by external political pressure rather than constitutionally permissible considerations. She seeks relief including reinstatement, back pay, correction of her employment record, and damages.
The case arises within a broader national set of disputes involving university discipline of faculty members over social media commentary related to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, raising ongoing questions about academic freedom and First Amendment protections for public employees.
